Sleep
by Assumed Name
Summary: It's been six years since we graduated, since anyone had seen him. It's been two years since my brother died. And today I found him sleeping on his grave. /Post Series/


**A/N: THIS FIC IS BASED ENTIRELY ON MY HEAD CANON.  
****This takes place six years after the series ends. No pairings (yet?), no actual spoilers. Sho's POV.  
****Just a plot bunny I came up with while I was asleep and freezing in a car. :D  
**

* * *

"Thank you so much for escorting me, Sho! I feel horrible about missing the actual funeral…I think my parents didn't tell me about it on purpose…They care so much about me excelling in school that they pretty much cut me off from the rest of the world, yah know? I got really mad at them, but it's cool now!" She had to pause for a brief gasp of air. "It's so not fair: all of you guys graduated and moved on with your lives while I had to finish up at Duel Academy. Then my folks made me study abroad…I've gotten so out of the loop!"

"Um, well, it's okay, Rei." I laughed to cover up how lost I was at whatever she was going on about. It was the first time in years that I'd seen her and she really hadn't changed. She had cut her hair, but she was still so hyper that I had no idea how to deal with it.

Rei looked up at me thoughtfully. "How long has it been since I last saw you? Four years? Five?"

"At least five." I respond nostalgically.

"It's insane, you've actually gotten a lot taller than me! I actually have to look up some when I talk to you. It's finally like you're older than me!" She giggled.

Was I really that short back then? I thought I was at least taller than her. But I have grown a lot the last few years, I guess.

"And your voice changed too. It's not as squeaky!" She looked to the side wistfully. "You're almost… a lot like him now."

I glance at her. I've been getting that a lot these past few years, but for some reason I never know how to respond.

She looked back at me with a cheesy grin. "Sorry! That's not a really thoughtful thing to say. So what was the funeral like? Beautiful, I'm guessing? Nothing strange happen?"

"It's alright…" I say sheepishly, lost in her boundless energy. "Oh, the funeral was pretty traditional, but we made sure it was very nice. Only the best for 'The Kaiser'." I grinned. "But getting everyone there was a real circus. It seems like everyone moved out of the country; Asuka's in America, Jim and Kenzan's are all over the place with their dinosaurs, and…god, it was a mess. It's like the only ones who stuck around here were Manjoume and I…and I guess you too now."

Rei laughed and looked at me, suddenly nervous looking.

"Did Judai come?" She asked softly.

I swallowed hard. "Sorry…No one's heard from him since we graduated. We don't even know where he is."

She gazed down sadly for a moment before looking back at me brightly as ever. "So are we almost at Kaiser's, um, grave yet? It feels like we've been walking for hours!"

"Actually, there it is right now." I point toward a large obelisk-shaped gravestone a few meters in front of us. It was tall and glorious, as appropriate for my brother, complete with a name plate engraved with a dragon to the side of his name: RYO MARUFUJI. They had made sure he was buried in one of the finest cemeteries in town. It was well-kept with green, clean-cut grass and tall trees. It was a beautiful place.

Although today there was something off.

At the foot of Ryo's grave lay a body.

The both of us stopped dead in our tracks. Rei inhaled sharply, her hands flying to her mouth.

"S-Sho! Do you think that's..it's…d-dea…" She stuttered in a hushed tone.

I pause in the silence of the graveyard. "N-nah. Listen… whoever they are, they're just sleeping. You can hear them snoring."

Rei gave a sigh of relief at the sound of the person's soft breathing. She followed me closely as I hesitantly move closer to the body.

It was a tall male figure, sloppily covered by a hooded black trench coat, that he wasn't even wearing correctly, may I say, sprawled in a heap over the grass. A torn up red scarf clashed with his all-black clothing. He seemed…normal. Kind of shady looking, but normal enough. I took a couple cautious steps ahead of Rei and examined what I could see of his face. From underneath his makeshift cover, I could see a chin covered with bristly reddish-brown stubble and a broad neck half-covered by a high, wrinkly collar. His skin looked dry and obviously sun-tanned. I would guess he was close to my age. Maybe he was homeless…

Then I noticed the messy locks of brown hair thrown across his face. The color was achingly familiar…

"Sho! I think we should do something!" I tried not to jump as Rei suddenly appeared beside me, grabbing my arm. "It rained earlier, right? What if he's been sleeping in the rain? He might be sick…" She looked up at my probably frozen expression and smiled coyly as she did.

"You may have grown a foot, but you're still a real spazz, aren't you.?" She mocked.

I dismissed her remark with a polite cough and nudged my glasses back in place. Maybe weak hearts were genetic in the Marufuji family…though I probably shouldn't joke about that at my brother's resting place.

"Anyway," I turned back to the man sleeping nonchalantly on the ground, " What should we do?"

"Well we can't just leave him here!" Rei said brightly. She fearlessly strode over to man an kneeled down to his level. "Excuse me, sir…wake up…"

I raised an eyebrow at her fearless, outgoing ways, especially with strangers. However I couldn't help but laugh at as Rei went from talking to poking to shaking to violently shaking…but something about the whole scene seemed so familiar.

That's when I heard it. The rustling. And the drawn-out, disturbingly croaky "meow". I turned wildly to the source of the sound, a row of bushes lining the graveyard, while trying to control my nervous shaking. I watched as a very fat, tan cat crawled out of the bushes and strode toward the sleeping man Rei was attacking, mewing it's distinctive meow as it slowly made it's way there. That's when the gears in my head really started turning. The last time I had seen that cat was…

"No…" My whole body was shaking, despite myself. "Is that…Pharaoh?"

"S-Sho! You'll never believe…" Rei's voice was shaky. Somehow, I knew what was coming, but it was all happening so fast…

I was practically in a dream-like state as I swung back around to find the man wobbling as he slowly sat up. His cover fell to the ground as he lazily scratched the back of his head , which was revealed to be covered with brown and orange hair, long in the front, messily spiked in the back. His eyes, one a dark green, one burnt orange, briefly wandered down to Pharaoh, who was rubbing against his outstretched legs clumsily, before looking up at his founders and widening with surprise.

Rei's hand's wandered back to her mouth as she stepped back in shock.

"I-it can't be… is that you…?"

In my daze, I say the only thing that can escape my dry throat.

"…Aniki…"

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**I may _not_ continue this because I have no idea how to end it, but maybe if you throw me enough fruit I will. -whorewhorewhore-  
****But seriously, I have no idea who I would end this (I just wanted to write it lolololol) but if you gaes want me to try and keep going I'll try. LAWB.  
****kbai**


End file.
